"Its
visual beauty is compelling and its emotions are
kindled from within, as it takes off from the
source of its literary roots and becomes a pure
cinematic experience."

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A stunning visual and musically pleasing telling of
Hermann Hesse's 1921 Nobel Prize-winning novel about a
wealthy young Brahmin who discards his possessions and
becomes a seeker of wisdom in India. Conrad Rooks ("Chappaqua")
directs/writes/produces the pic not necessarily for
its dramatization but for the spiritual values to be
learned about the intense journey for self-knowledge
and to find the divine within. Sven Nykvist, best
known for being Ingmar Bergman's photographer, brings
his immense skills to Siddharta and fills the screen
with an assortment of rich colors and golden hues.
He's able to complement the enticingly leisure pace of
the wandering ascetic story by fully capturing the
shimmering beauty of Northern India and the magical
spells this ancient land casts for its inhabitants.
Some will be deeply affected by the film's simple
message and allure of overcoming one's suffering
through the destruction of craving and attachment to
gain control of one's self, while others will react
cynically and eschew all the platitudes reached as
unimportant chatter and the film as being pretentious.
When the film first ran, it was largely dismissed by
critics as a failed effort. The film released recently
on DVD should appeal mostly to those who value the
achievement of peace of mind over material conquests,
and have an open mind about philosophies and religions
that might differ from theirs and can imagine a long
river being a metaphor for existence. Others, might
find it appealing as an adventure story introducing
them to the basics of Eastern philosophy, just as
Hesse's existential novel did to many in the West. The
story blends a search for the meaning of life through
Hinduism and Buddhism, and ends up with a universal
message for finding wisdom rather than a strictly
Buddhist one. Siddharta examines his own Hindu roots
and feels stagnant following the religious practices
of his father, and after meeting and rejecting a Hindu
guru in his retreat to the forest he accidentally
meets the Buddha. He thereby seeks out the teaching of
his contemporary.

Siddharta (Shashi Kapoor) has been traveling with
his dependent lifetime friend Govinda (Romesh Sharma), and leaves
him with the Buddha when his friend believes he has
found what he is looking for. But Siddharta senses
that no teacher, no matter how great and he considers
the Buddha the greatest teacher he has found, can
replace his own experience. He therefore leaves the
Buddha and continues to wander as a sadhu (a holy man
who lives on the charity of others), as he tries to
cut his own path. A poor but wise ferryman (Zul
Vellani) takes him across the Ganges River and he is
led to a world he has not known of sexual passion.
Attracted in the city to the beauty of a courtesan
named Kamala (Simi Garewal), he innocently professes
his love for her. She finds his sincerity appealing
but will not teach him how to make love until he earns
money. She therefore introduces him to a wealthy
merchant (Pincho Kapoor) who is skeptical of his
business skills, but gives him a job after he observes
he can read and write. Siddharta claims he knows how
to think, to wait, and to fast, and therefore once the
merchant teaches him the lessons needed to be a
merchant he will prosper with good fortune. These
skills do prove to be beneficial, as in time he
achieves great wealth. But he eventually finds these
material and sensual pleasures to be empty and
discards them. He returns to the ferryman as an old
man and gains nirvana as a poor ferryman studying the
ways of the river. When Kamala dies, he takes his
young son to live with him. But the son leaves him, as
he feels stifled living in such isolation and poverty.

The lesson to be learned is that one must live in
the now. Everything changes and nothing remains the
same, and that everything returns; that all goals
become obsessions and keep one attached, therefore one
must stop searching and learn how to love--which is
the highest quality in life. The simplest things are
the hardest to achieve. To find such simplicity and
tranquility might take many lifetimes, but by seeking
an end to the temporary world one can live a life of
quality.

This is an unusual pic, one that is poignant and
inspirational for those who cherish enlightenment and
serenity. It's a gripping watch that combines hedonism
and spirituality. Its visual beauty is compelling and
its emotions are kindled from within, as it takes off
from the source of its literary roots and becomes a
pure cinematic experience.